It
is again clear from the current election campaign in France that a
large proportion of the population wants left-wing radical solutions
to exit the crisis. The impressive number of people attending
Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s rallies and joining his movement La France
Insoumise is evidence enough as well as poll survey results on voting
intentions. This is indeed good reason to rejoice. Such upsurge of
support for left-wing radical proposals to turn away from European
treaties is a positive signal. Two other left-wing candidates,
Philippe Poutou and Nathalie Arthaud, also benefit from a large-scale
sympathy. Philippe Poutou’s attack on François Fillon and Marine
Le Pen during the 4 April 2017 television debate also prompted a lot
of interest,
in and outside France.
by
Eric Toussaint , Teresa Rodríguez , Miguel Urbán Crespo , Angela
Klein , Stathis Kouvelakis , Costas Lapavitsas , Zoe Konstantopoulou
, Marina Albiol , Olivier Besancenot , Rommy Arce
Part
3
To avoid what we saw in Greece in
2015, here are ten proposals for social mobilization and actions to
be taken immediately and simultaneously by any government that is
truly operating in the interests of the people.
1. A left-wing government must
disobey the European Commission in a very transparent manner and in
line with its prior commitments.
The party or coalition of parties
(the example of Spain comes to mind) that claim to govern should from
the outset refuse to conform to austerity measures, and pledge to
refuse measures aiming solely at balancing the budget. They should
announce: “We will not yield to the European treaties’ diktat
of a balanced budget because we want to increase public expenditures
to fight anti-social and austerity measures and embark on the
ecological transition.”
Therefore, the first step is to
begin disobeying in a clear and determined way. The Greek
capitulation has shown us why we must shed the illusion that the EC
and other European governments respect the popular mandate. This
illusion can only lead to disaster. We must disobey.
2. Call for popular
mobilization both at the national and the European level.
In 2015, such an initiative proved
unsuccessful in Greece and elsewhere in Europe. It is obvious that
the European social movements did not achieve great success in
calling for demonstrations, which did take place but were not at the
level required by the need for solidarity with the Greek people.
However, it is also true that
Syriza’s strategy did not include calls for popular mobilization in
Europe, or even in Greece. And when the Tsipras government did call
for mobilization by means of the referendum of July 5, 2015, the will
of the 61.5 percent of Greeks who refused to accept the creditors’
demands was not respected.
Let’s remember that starting in
late February 2015 and up until the end of June 2015, Yanis
Varoufakis and Alexis Tsipras made statements aimed at convincing
public opinion that an agreement was in sight and that the situation
was improving.
Imagine that instead, after each
important negotiation, they had explained what was at stake through
press releases, statements to the media, and declarations in public
places — in front of the headquarters of the European institutions
in Brussels and elsewhere. Imagine that they had revealed what was
really going on. It would have led to gatherings of thousands or tens
of thousands of people, and the social networks would have relayed
this alternative discourse to hundreds of thousands or millions of
citizens.
3. Launch a debt audit with
citizens’ participation.
The situations in the twenty-eight
EU countries, and of course within the eurozone, are diverse. In some
European countries — as in Greece — it is a matter of utmost
necessity and priority to suspend debt repayments, in order to make
the satisfaction of social needs and basic human rights an absolute
priority. It is also a key element of a self-defense strategy.
In Spain, in Portugal, in Cyprus,
and in Ireland, such a move depends on the balance of power and the
current economic picture. In other countries, it is possible to carry
out the audit first and then decide on the suspension of repayments.
The specific situation of each country must be weighed before
implementing these measures.
4. Establish control of capital
flows.
We must clarify what this means.
It does not mean that people cannot transfer a few hundred euros
abroad. Obviously international financial transactions would be
allowed up to a certain amount. On the other hand, it is important to
enforce strict control over capital flows beyond a certain threshold.
5. Socialize the financial
sector and the energy sector.
Socializing the financial sector
does not merely mean developing a public banking hub. It implies
decreeing a public monopoly on the financial sector, i.e. the banks,
building societies and insurance companies. That is, a socialization
of the financial sector under citizen control; turning the financial
sector into a public service. Of course, socializing the energy
sector will also be a priority during the ecological transition.
Ecological transition cannot take place without a public monopoly
over the energy sector, both in terms of production and distribution.
6. Create a complementary,
non-convertible currency and defend the right to leave the eurozone.
Whether it is a case of exiting
the eurozone or remaining in it, it is necessary to create a
non-convertible complementary currency. In other words, a currency
that is used locally, for exchanges within the country — for
example, for paying increased pensions, salary increases for civil
servants, taxes, public services, etc. The use of a complementary
currency enables partial relief from the dictatorship of the euro and
the European Central Bank.
Of course, we cannot avoid the
debate on the eurozone. In several countries, exiting the eurozone is
an option that must be defended by political parties, trade unions,
and other social movements. Several eurozone countries will not be
able to truly break away from austerity and launch an ecosocialist
transition without leaving the eurozone. A redistributive monetary
reform, or the levying of a special progressive tax on incomes above
€200,000, should be implemented in the case of an exit. That
proposal would apply only to cash assets, and not to personal
property (principal residence, etc.).
By applying a progressive exchange
rate when moving from the euro to the new currency, the amount of
cash in the hands of the wealthiest 1 percent would be reduced and
wealth redistributed to households.
7. Implement radical tax
reform.
Remove VAT on basic consumer goods
and services, such as food, electricity, and water (up to a certain
level of consumption per individual), as well as other basic
utilities. On the other hand, increase VAT on luxury goods and
services, etc. We also need to increase the taxes on corporate
profits and incomes above a certain level — in other words, a
progressive tax on income, wealth, and luxury residences. The reform
of taxation must produce immediate effects: a very significant
decrease in indirect and direct taxes for the majority of the
population and a very significant increase for the wealthiest 10
percent and for major corporations. Also, strict new measures will be
taken against fraud and tax evasion.
8. Deprivatize — “buy back”
— privatized companies for a symbolic euro.
Paying no more than a symbolic
euro to those who have benefited from privatizations would be an
appropriate gesture and would strengthen and extend public services
under citizen control.
9. Implement a broad emergency
plan for creating socially useful jobs and for economic justice.
Reduce working hours with no
reduction in wages. Repeal antisocial laws and adopt laws to remedy
the situation of abusive mortgage debt; countries such as Spain,
Ireland, Greece, etc. are the most concerned. This could well be
fixed by adopting adequate legislation, to avoid court actions (since
many households have to face legal action requested by banks).
For example, a parliament could
pass a law to cancel mortgage debts below €150,000 and thus bring
such cases to an end. A vast program of public expenditure would be
implemented in order to stimulate employment and socially useful
activity by encouraging circuits of local production and
distribution.
10. Initiate a genuine
constituent process.
This does not imply constitutional
changes within the framework of the existing parliamentary
institutions. It involves dissolving the parliament and electing a
constituent assembly by direct vote.
These are ten basic proposals for
discussion. But one thing is certain: the measures to be taken must
go to the root of the problems, and must be applied simultaneously,
since a coherent program is needed. Breaking away from austerity
policies cannot be achieved if, from the very start, radical measures
against big capital are not taken.
Those who want us to believe that
it’s possible to achieve this objective without going down that
road just create confusion and block any real progress. The
architecture of Europe and the magnitude of the capitalist crisis
leave no room for neo-Keynesian or productivist politics.
Ecosocialism must be put at the heart of the debate, not left aside.
Immediate and concrete proposals must emerge. We must carry out the
anti-austerity struggle and embark on the path of an ecosocialist
transition. It is an absolute and urgent necessity.
***
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